Effects of Slow-Replay Augmented Feedback on Contact Precision

In fast interceptive sports such as baseball, performers may have limited access to the contact-related error information needed to support trial-by-trial recalibration of subsequent actions, because critical contact events unfold too rapidly. This study tested whether slow-replay augmented feedback could improve short-term bat–ball contact precision by making otherwise inaccessible contact-event information visible in a virtual-reality baseball batting scenario. Twenty-four male collegiate baseball players were randomly assigned to a Replay group or a No-replay group and completed a virtual-reality batting task consisting of 45 fastball trials. Only the Replay group received slow-motion replay and a still image of the bat–ball relationship after each swing. Contact accuracy and spatial consistency were assessed using bat-centered contact-error measures, including total error, error along the bat’s long axis, error perpendicular to it, and the spatial spread of contact locations (95% ellipse area). The clearest replay-related effect was observed for the error perpendicular to the bat’s long-axis, which decreased across sets in the Replay group. Ellipse area also decreased across sets in the Replay group, consistent with greater spatial clustering of contact locations. Total error and error along the bat’s long-axis showed descriptively similar but less conclusive patterns. Because these effects were observed in highly trained collegiate batters, the findings raise the possibility that further refinement of fast interceptive skill may be partly constrained by limited access to precise contact-related error information under normal real-time conditions. Slow-replay augmented feedback may therefore transiently alleviate this informational constraint and support short-term, trial-by-trial recalibration of bat–ball control.